Strauss: Arabella (Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg 2014, Directed by: Klepper)

With “Arabella,” which premiered in Dresden in 1933, came the final opera by Strauss and his favorite librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who drew directly on the sensational success of Rosenkavalier with this story. Once again, there is love at first sight, a fictional courtship ritual, and a woman dressed in men’s clothes. Because of the place of its premiere in Dresden and the important role Strauss and Hofmannsthal played in the founding of the Salzburg Festival, “Arabella” is the ideal choice for Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden to commemorate Richard Strauss’s 150th birthday at the 2014 Salzburg Easter Festival. In terms of vocal talent, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, Daniel Behle and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller guarantee a special star-studded appeal. The young Bavarian director Florentine Klepper delivers an engaging production. She keeps the first act constantly in motion and skillfully counteracts any tendency toward the saccharine and kitschy in acts 2 and 3.